According to The Australian Financial Review, the population of NSW grew at its fastest pace in eight years in the year to September as increasing numbers of immigrants more than offset the loss of locals to Queensland.
Faster growth in the most populous state, along with sustained growth in Victoria, helped push Australia's total population up 1.6 per cent from a year earlier to 24.7 million and put the country on track to top 25 million in July, official figures showed on Thursday.
Strong economies, coupled with growing new housing supply that was being soaked up by new arrivals and weakness in other states prompting people to move from elsewhere is all underpinning the strength of growth in the two largest states.
"Sydney and Melbourne are in the sweet spot," said Terry Rawnsley, a principal of consultancy SGS Economics & Planning. "Their economies are strong. Their housing markets are providing more stock. At the same time, there are weaknesses in other states, so interstate migrants are flowing to where the jobs and housing are."
​http://www.afr.com/real-estate/population-grows-at-fastest-rate-in-3-years-as-nsw-qld-pick-up-20180322-h0xtrk